This Middle Eastern country has the world’s most powerful passport

These passport holders can now travel to 167 countries without obtaining a prior visa. Source: Shutterstock.

MOVE over, Singapore and Germany. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has emerged as the country with the world’s most powerful passport.

According to Passport Index’s Global Passport Power Rank 2018 ratings, UAE passport holders can now travel to 167 countries without obtaining a prior visa – 113 countries visa-free and another 54 using visas on arrival.

Passport Index collects, displays, and ranks in real-time the passports of the United Nations’ 193 member countries and six additional territories (ROC Taiwan, Macao (SAR China), Hong Kong (SAR China), Kosovo, Palestinian Territory, and the Vatican).

Empowered by Arton Capital, it is the only real-time global ranking of the world’s passports, updated as frequently as new visa waivers and changes are implemented.

Data is taken from publicly available sources and official information provided by government agencies.

Singaporean and German passports both allow entry without prior visas to 166 countries while the US, South Korea, and a host of other European nations have access to 165. Singapore is the only other Asian country in the top 10 currently.

Source: Shutterstock.

Meanwhile, UK residents have visa-free access to 119 countries and 45 with a visa on arrival while Afghanistan sits right at the bottom of the Passport Index ladder with access to just 29 countries without obtaining a prior visa.